


Star Gazing

by haircutnamedarthur



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Birthday, First Kiss, M/M, Sneaking Out, Star Gazing, happy birthday Marco!, jeanmarco, the characters besides jean and marco are only mentioned, this is literally the fluffiest thing ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 19:12:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4149606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haircutnamedarthur/pseuds/haircutnamedarthur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Marco's birthday, and Jean wants to do something to celebrate.  Sometimes the simple things make the best presents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Star Gazing

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there friends! So, today is Marco's birthday (6/16) so naturally I wanted to do something to celebrate since JeanMarco is my otp. Thus, this ridiculously fluffy fanfic was born! Enjoy~

Jean glanced out the window of the barracks and inspected the night sky seriously.  Was it dark enough?  Had enough time passed?  Was this _really_ a good idea?  He couldn’t wait much longer.  Now would have to do; despite his growing restlessness, he found himself growing sleepy.  Biting back a yawn, he pushed away from the wall he was leaning against, and stood up straight.  He raked a hand through his sandy hair, and slipped back into the sleeping area, clutching his boots in his hand as he crept along in stocking feet, avoiding known creaky boards with care.

Creeping quietly through the rows of bunks, he made his way back to the bed he was trying to find.  He passed Eren, sprawled out, limbs akimbo as if he wanted to take up as much of the bed as possible.  Armin had cocooned himself tidily in his blanket despite the warmth of the June night.  Only the blond crown of his head was visible.  Nearby, Connie snored at a far louder volume than should have been possible for someone of his size.  In the next set of bunks, Bertholdt and Reiner slept in a tangle of arms and legs.  Even in his sleep, Bert’s eyebrows were creased with worry. 

None of these bunks contained the person he was looking for, however.  No, the person he was looking for was in the bunk at the very end row.  Inevitably, at that person’s bed, the blanket would be un-creased, the uniform jacket draped over its peg with the utmost care, and the boots already set out in preparation for tomorrow. 

Marco Bodt slept peacefully. The spray of freckles that dappled his nose and cheeks were illuminated by the thin shaft of moonlight that sneaked in through the high upper windows of the barracks.  His brown hair flopped across his forehead as his thick eyelashes brushed his cheekbones.  Jean sucked in a breath.  It seemed like a shame to wake him.  God knows, they’d both be regretting any late night antics by the time that morning roll call came about, but Jean didn’t want to think about that right now.

“Hey, Marco.”  He gently shook his shoulder, “Marco.”

“Mmm?”  Marco’s eyes opened slowly, blearily.  He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with balled fists.  “Jean?” 

“Shhh, come with me.”  Jean whispered, grabbing Marco’s forearm and gesturing for him to grab his boots. 

Marco cocked his head curiously, but nonetheless allowed Jean to pull him to his feet and lead him on tip toe out of the sleeping area.  Jean prayed that no one else would wake up and see them.  Inevitably, they’d want to know where their two classmates were headed, and then the surprise would be ruined.

Finally free of the bunks, Jean yanked on his boots in the doorway, and Marco did the same.  The freckled boy still hadn’t questioned exactly what they were doing, or why Jean was dragging him outside in the middle of the night.  Jean hadn’t really expected him to, though.  Marco was far too trusting for that. 

Slender fingers still wrapped around Marco’s tan wrist, Jean trotted through the silent training camp, on high alert for guards.  For the past few nights, Jean had observed their patterns, and right around this time, the guards were the lightest, and most likely to be dozing off on the job.  If there was ever a good time to sneak off, it was now. 

The sound of boots other than their own tramping through the dirt sent Jean and Marco skittering to the relative safety offered behind an outbuilding, hearts pounding until the guard had retreated to walk the next part of his beat, whistling out of tune as he went.  Jean sighed theatrically and Marco had to stifle a giggle before they set off again, making for the fence.

Without too much effort, Jean managed to find the loose board that he had located on another midnight waltz around the camp.  That time, he had been alone, trying to cool his temper after very nearly getting in a fist fight with Eren.  They would have fought, too, had Mikasa not appeared and dragged Eren away by the collar of his shirt while he hissed and spat like an angry cat.

Holding the board aside for Marco, he pushed the taller boy to the other side first, then slipped through himself.   Any possible trace of tiredness had fled from him as the undefinable thrill of sneaking out flooded his veins.  Marco, too, looked fully awake now, and even in the dark Jean could see an excited blush coloring his cheeks as he followed his shorter friend quickly and carefully up a poorly defined path leading to the steep slope of one of the hills surrounding the camp. 

They probably could have begun talking without danger of being discovered, but the quiet was welcome.  During waking hours, the camp was _loud._ Voices yelled, equipment creaked, and running footsteps beat out a permanent staccato rhythm against the hard packed earth.  Up on the hill, all of that seemed as if it were worlds apart rather than only a short trek away.

Panting slightly from the effort of traversing their way up the path on such a warm night, Jean and Marco finally crested the hill.  Away from the constant tread of soldier’s boots, the grass there had managed to grow enough to cover the ground, even if it was still rather brown and scrubby.  Despite this, however, it was thicker grass than the two of them had seen in a very, very long time.  Marco immediately flopped down onto his back, sighing happily as he wriggled into a more comfortable position.  Jean joined him, arms crossed behind his head as a makeshift pillow.

The night was clear.  Only a few wispy, mare’s tail clouds marred the otherwise perfect view of the stars. 

“They seem so much closer than they do down in the camp.  And so much brighter.”  Marco breathed, brown eyes shining as he turned to smile at Jean.  While he grinned, the skin around his eyes crinkled, and his brows arched upwards.  _When Marco_ really _smiles, he uses his whole face,_ Jean thought, _his mouth, his eyes, his cheeks.._.

“It is pretty, isn’t it?”  Jean responded, unsure why they were both still whispering.  He was suddenly overcome by the strange sense that they were the last people in the world.  Only the two of them, lying in the thin grass at the peak of a hill, were real.

“Very.”  Marco hummed, happy and peaceful.  “Not that I mind, of course, but why did you bring me here, Jean?” 

Jean shifted so one of his arms was free, and he reached down and grabbed Marco’s hand.  His grip was tentative at first, but a reassuring squeeze from Marco emboldened him and he held on tighter.  Like his face, the back of Marco’s hand was speckled with freckles, a detail that Jean had just noticed for the thousandth time. 

“Happy birthday, Marco.”  He said simply, and smiled self-consciously.

“You remembered!”  Marco beamed.  “I told you when it was ages ago!”

“Of course I remembered.”  Jean groused.  “What do you take me for?  I mean, I guess this is kind of lame, but-” Marco cut him off.

“Oh hush, you, it’s not lame _at all._ I couldn’t have asked for anything better.  This is _perfect._ ”  Marco’s grin turned mischievous.  “Well almost perfect, that is.”

“Wait, what-” For the second time, Marco interrupted Jean, leaning over to brush a gentle kiss across his lips before settling back down beside him, far more nervous than he had been just moments before.  Jean’s eyes widened in shock as a blush rose in his cheeks, not quite convinced that what had just happened had _actually happened._

“Jean, I…”  Marco trailed off, looked anxious until Jean scooted closer to him and lay his head by Marco’s shoulder, silently confirming that the kiss had been more than welcome.

A warm breeze ruffled through their hair as they stared up at the stars and put off their inevitable return back down the path, through the gap in the fence, and back to the barracks. 

“Thank you, Jean.”  Marco said quietly, not taking his eyes off of the sky above them.  “Really, really, thank you.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again, all! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please let me know what you think! I love receiving feedback since it helps me to learn and grow as a writer.
> 
> If you'd like, come say "hi" to me on Tumblr! I'm on there at http://haircut-named-arthur.tumblr.com/! I love chatting about fandoms (or just random things)!


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